Riverdale Season 1 Penultimate Episode to Reveal Jason Blossom Killer

The reveal of Jason Blossom’s killer on The CW’s Riverdaleis coming sooner, rather than later. The CW series adaptation of the Archie comic books first offered fans a dark, edgy take on the typically straight-laced world of Archie Andrews and the many, many unique people populating his life. Pitched initially as “Twin Peaks meets The O.C.” the series has successfully captured the perfect blend of pulpy, murderous teenage drama that kept it from falling into obscurity when it first premiered. And right at the heart of all of that conflict, of course, is the murder of Jason Blossom.

For a series like Riverdale, keeping the mystery being Jason Blossom’s murder has been paramount in keeping it from ever feeling stale or formulaic, even as it continues to develop and delve into the subplots and relationships of its main and supporting characters (see the Archie, Betty and Veronica relationship, for instance). With a self-aware, sometimes admittedly cheesy narration from Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse), though, the series has managed to make each new clue in the ongoing Jason Blossom investigation feel both unexpected and organic at the same time.

But no show can keep a murder mystery like Riverdale‘s a secret forever, and because of that, the show’s creative team have been very open with the fans, telling them that they can expect to find out who Jason Blossom’s killer is by the time the first season comes to a close. In a new report by EW as well, viewers can apparently expect to find out the true identity of Jason’s killer in the season’s penultimate episode. Showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa even goes on to tease that the reveal will leave the “entire town reeling” in the finale, as everything “comes full circle back to Sweetwater River.” According to Aguirre-Sacasa, that means fans can also expect to see some huge last minute twists in the finale’s closing moments:

“There’s a huge twist ending that sets up the second season. One of our main character’s life hangs in the balance.” Plus: Archie will finally perform with Josie and the Pussycats, while Jughead adopts his pet Hot Dog — oh, and eats a hamburger!”

In case fans were wondering what exactly that might mean for the show’s main couple pairings too, Aguirre-Sacasa does tease that the finale will leave the main four in a bit of an interesting place. As the pairings are finally set once and for all, one of the couples will go all the way, while another’s fate will be left hanging in the balance in between seasons – which for Betty (Lili Reinhart) and Jughead fans everywhere, might be some cause for concern.

This news also comes following the recent tease thatRiverdale season 1 features another character death, as the mystery of one murder is solved and another begins. What exactly that means for the direction of the second season will have to wait to be seen, especially as the victim’s identity remains a secret for the time being. But for what started out as nothing more than the latest addition to The CW’s growing, Greg Berlanti-produced lineup of comic book adaptations, it’s becoming more and more fair to say that this little-series-that-could may go down as the most successful one yet. As it turns out, all the story of Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes), and Jughead Jones needed to make it on TV, was the small addition of a mysterious murder or two.